It all boils down to digital privacy

IAA chairman and world president Srinivasan Swamy and actor Amitabh Bachchan switch on the lamp to inaugurate ... Read More

KOCHI: International Advertising Association (IAA) – the global body of marketing communications which has presence in 56 countries – began its three-day world congress in Kochi on Wednesday by raising concerns over the possible impact of data protection laws on the advertising industry.

While addressing industry members during the inaugural session, IAA chairman and world president Srinivasan Swamy said: “Privacy has become a major concern in the digital world. We accept cookies when we visit a website and we give up some right to privacy, when we are on the web world. Privacy has been a serious concern since the digital world took centre stage 20 years ago. Then onwards people have been worrying about privacy. Last year, the European Union brought out the game-changing regulation titled general data protection regulation (GDPR)”.

In the US, California has passed the California Consumer Privacy Act, which is similar to GDPR, he said, adding that with EU and the US leading the way, other countries are also following suit.

Swamy added that the growing trend among governments to protect the privacy of users in the digital world is an area of concern for the marketing industry.

Increasing regulations are the norm of the day and regulations could make targeted advertising difficult. It will increase the cost of advertisements and will result in reduced competition. These are all issues that will affect consumers. Lesser choice seen by consumers, less innovation and non-transparent pricing are other issues that arise from increased regulation, he said.

On the other hand, IAA had been at the forefront of self-regulation, said the chairman. “Thirty years ago, we started self-regulation. Privacy and data protection issues of digital advertising need urgent attention before more stringent regulations are passed,” he said.

Swamy also highlighted the fact that Digital Advertising Alliance, a non-profit body which has presence in over 30 countries, is engaged in self-regulation. “More government interventions appear imminent, so more needs to be done,” he said.

IAA world congress steering committee chairman Pradeep Guha talked about the magnitude of technological changes the world is witnessing. “During the past few decades, we have globally witnessed an unprecedented technology acceleration. Progress in artificial intelligence, robotics, computing and digital manufacturing has put us on an irreversible path and over the next two decades, it will bring in a societal transformation, which we haven’t seen in the past 200 years,” he said.

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